A practical discipleship plan for real life, real faith, and real leadership
Christian growth is one of the most talked-about aspects of faith – and one of the most misunderstood.
After more than 30 years of leading churches, preaching most weeks while walking alongside people through joy, disappointment, tragedy, burnout, renewal, and quiet faithfulness, here’s what I’ve found to be true:
- Spiritual growth is rarely instant
- It’s never tidy
- And it is always deeper than what we see on the surface
Yet real spiritual growth is possible. Not religiousness or busyness – but a life steadily formed into the likeness of Christ – rooted, resilient, with resurrection power.
This page offers a summary plan for growing as a Christian, shaped by Scripture, tested in local church leadership, and lived out on the ground where faith meets real life. I want it to whet your appetite so you subscribe for more and we can stay connected so I can serve you better.
Why many Christians feel stuck in their faith
Most Christians don’t stall because they don’t care, but because they were never given a clear ‘How to’ for discipleship.
Of course preachers like me will tell them to:
- Read the Bible more
- Pray harder
- Serve faithfully
- Try not to drift away
All good stuff! But without structure and sense of progression, no matter how many times you hear variations on those themes, growth becomes accidental rather than intentional. And so we have people in churches who say they have been a Christian 20 years but really they have been a Christian for about a year, 20 times!
Over time, what we may call steps of faith, generosity or devotion are actually reactive – responding to pressure, guilt, or crisis – instead of being steadily formed through purpose and practice in community.
Jesus never called people to vague spiritual progress by going to church.
He formed disciples to become something as part of the church.
The framework for spiritual growth: Knowing – Growing – Going
This framework (which forms Ivy’s vision statement and is also a free short course we run on repeat) reflects how Jesus actually made disciples.
Not by receiving information.
Not by joining a religious organisation
But through spiritual formation – in a community that exists for world transformation.
Knowing – identity before activity
Christian growth begins with knowing.
Not simply knowing about God, but Knowing God – and knowing who you are in Christ.
Before Jesus sent the disciples, he called them to be with him.
Knowing includes:
- Becoming a Christian as a personal reality, not an assumed background
- Letting Scripture shape identity, and then transform behaviour
- Learning to live from relationship – before carrying responsibility
In real church life, I have seen something happen again and again, people who rush past knowing and heading straight toward doing.’ They end up before long trying to carry activity without authority and it becomes slavery not joyful service, like the older brother in Luke 15 they serve. They may lead others. They even ‘succeed.’ But without deep roots, eventually it fractures and falls apart.
Knowing is not about doing.
Knowing is knowing that Jesus will never say ‘I never knew you.’
Knowing is where faith becomes personal, grace is foundational so authority is spiritual.
If you want to explore this further:
Growing – formation over time, not instant transformation
If knowing is the root, growing is the trunk – the slow, sacred work of formation.
This is where many Christians become discouraged, because growth rarely looks dramatic it’s the hard yards of:
- Developing spiritual practices that fit real life
- Being shaped in community rather than struggling in isolation
- Learning obedience when no one is watching or applauding
Spiritual growth usually happens:
- Through repetition
- Despite resistance
- In seasons where God feels quieter than we expected
Scripture speaks so often of soil, pruning, and fruit – why? Because formation takes time.
In leadership, this truth is unavoidable. You can create systems, but you can’t rush soul devotion. When you try, something precious eventually breaks.
The story that comes to mind is of a man who once noticed a butterfly cocoon beginning to open.
A small gap appeared, and for hours the butterfly struggled to push its body through the narrow opening. Then it stopped, exhausted, as though it could go no further.
Wanting to help, the man took a pair of scissors and cut away the remaining cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily. But its body was swollen. Its wings were weak and shrivelled.
The man waited, expecting the wings to strengthen and spread. They never did. The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling. It never learned to fly.
What the man didn’t understand was this:
The resistance of the cocoon and the struggle to break free were not obstacles – they were essential.
The pressure forced life into the wings.
The struggle prepared the butterfly for flight.
By removing the struggle from the growing, he removed the strength
Growing is where:
- Character is refined
- Motives are exposed
- Faith matures from passion into endurance
Helpful reflections here on my blog include:
Growing is where spiritual depth is forged.
Going – faith lived on mission, not just talked about
Healthy spiritual growth always leads somewhere. As Jesus was sent, so are we!
Going is not about leaving church – it’s about living faith out in practice where your life actually happens.
Going includes:
- Living the gospel Monday to Saturday
- Carrying Christ into work and family, pressure, pleasure and pain
- Participating in God’s mission with humility and courage – in word and deed – including the miraculous!
Going looks different in different seasons:
- For some, it is leadership and responsibility
- For others, it is faithful presence under pressure
- For others still, it is rediscovering calling after disappointment
Faith that never goes outward eventually turns inward. Jesus formed disciples who came to Him but then were sent by Him – not all to the same place, but all with the same heart.
You may find these helpful:
Disciple making in real church life
Frameworks only matter if they work on the ground.
Over years of pastoral leadership, Ivy has developed our lived discipleship pathway, check out the blog, the Ivy site, or RightNowMedia for more details but what I want to stress is that this ‘path’ is not linear. People move back and forth. Life interrupts. Seasons change.
But we want to give language to what we believe God wants to do so that people can locate themselves and take a next step, rather than just sit another Sunday in church nodding along like Homer Simpson until it’s done again.
Related posts:
Why spiritual growth often feels slow, painful, or hidden
Scripture is clear: God often grows people through pruning, not promotion.
In real life, growth can feel like:
- Reduction rather than expansion
- Obedience without recognition
- Faithfulness without visible (to us) fruit
As a church leader, I have walked through seasons where:
- Growth was slow – or seemed to go backwards
- Decisions were costly, while
- Criticism was loud and
- God felt quiet
Looking back, those seasons formed far me and the church much more than visible success ever did.
Growth is not always addition.
Sometimes it is subtraction for the sake of health, clarity, and authority. Then what you have is worth multiplying.
How to start growing as a Christian – practically
Ask yourself now:
- What do I need to know again about God and who I am?
- Where do I need to grow, as I wait on Him?
- What might God be inviting me to go into, next?
Then take one faithful step:
- Read Scripture slowly
- Practice prayer simply
- Journal regularly
- Stay rooted in community
- Say yes to what is in front of you
God does powerful work with faithfulness.
A final word
After more than three decades of church leadership, this is my unshakeable conviction:
God is not anxious about your growth. It doesn’t come through straining, but happens best with training!
Meanwhile…He is not in a hurry.
He is not confused about your process.
And he is deeply committed – to finishing what he started.
Knowing.
Growing.
Going.
Not perfectly.
Not quickly.
But faithfully.
Read next
How To Grow A Spiritually Mature Church
Classic Wisdom on Spiritual Formation
Discover more from Anthony Delaney
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